My Christmas Present

I got lots of nice things for Christmas, but the first gift I got was a new job! My last day at Hollywood Video will be January 10. Then I start the new job January 11 - no time for a break, but that's ok. The company is Ecos Consulting (www.ecosconsulting.com). They do research and marketing for energy conservation programs throughout the west. Will be be doing Copywriting, my usual thing, across a wide scope of products and clients, so that will be cool. I hope I can keep up! The best part is the possibility of working at home again. I did it for four years while I was at Hollywood when Jack was a baby. This job will again allow me more family time. I am looking forward to it.

Goodbye 2005!

Well, for the Middleton's anyway, 2005 was a great year! Katie coming into our family was the best thing by far. She is so happy, such a joy to be around...we all love her so much! Jack has shown what a good big brother he is, and so caring. Even Zoey is on her best behavior around the baby!

Jack hit the big 5...and started Kindergarten. It's amazing to flip through photo albums and watch his face go from baby to little boy to BIG boy! When I look at his pictures, I search for any signs of his baby face... like, the little bit of baby fat in his cheeks, but even that is quickly disappearing.

Katie is eating lots of different food and never turns down anything. Today Guy turned around and she had crawled over to the Zoey's dish for a little dog food tasting. Eeewww! Guy commented, "Now her breath smells like Zoey's."



Katie is turning into a little prankster. She knows what she's not supposed to do, and likes to tease us! Tonight I kept moving her away from the bookcase. I'd go into the kitchen, then I would hear her drop to the floor and start giggling. I knew she was on the move! (Guy was in the living room with her just watching her) I would go back into the living room and she had crawled over to the bookcase, looking at me and laughing. It turned into a fun game for her!

We'll have lots to do in 2006. We have resolved to actually give Katie her own room before she turns 1 - that's only 6 weeks away, folks! I want to get back to the yard this year, which I have sorely neglected. We hope that maybe we'll have at least one bathroom remodeled after we take care of other issues. And stay better in touch with old friends! Happy 2006!

Organizing Photos

I updated the album links. I have compiled various pictures in each album, so some you have probably seen before. New in the albums are pictures from Thanksgiving, some goofing around pictures and outtakes from our Christmas card "photo shoot." When you get to the Kodak page, just click the link "view photos without signing in."

Looking at the pics, it's amazing seeing how much Katie has changed from day one. She only has 2 teeth, but that does not stop her from eating a lot. She has a huge appetite, but she stays her little self (she was in the 20th percentile for size at her last checkup). She eats lots of solid food, and has mastered crawling and pulling herself up, and even stands for short periods without holding on to anything.

Jack is on his Christmas break. All the grades K-5 performed last week in the Christmas concert and he loved it! He got a wonderful report card (mostly just a progress report) and he reading really well. He reads to ME a lot at bedtime...his favorite to read is Hippos Go Berserk. I think he just likes saying "berserk."

Counting down to Christmas morning! We had a snow and sleet storm on Sunday (city crippled by a mere 1 inch of snow), but our power went out for about 5 hours in the afternoon. Not fun! It put me way behind (I was going to do a bunch of baking, wrapping and packing boxes). But yesterday (Monday the 19th) ended up being a snow day for Jack, so we stayed home, baked cookies and played. It was a fun day!